MANILA, Philippines—Christmas for the Cabreras is usually spent partying in a hotel. But this year, the family is spending the holiday with their dear Osric at Makati City Jail.

Osric Cabrera and the three other suspects in the killing of a US Marine officer in Makati City lost all hopes of spending Yuletide at home, with the court just starting to hear their petition for bail in a criminal case being closely monitored by the US government.

In an Inquirer interview on Thursday, Jose Cesar Cabrera Jr. maintained that his brother Osric and his friends Juan Alfonso Abastillas, Crispin de la Paz and Galicano Datu III “were not the type of killers” being projected in the media.

Osric Cabrera

“A mere act of self-defense,” Jose Jr. said, led to the suspects’ violent encounter with the victim, George Anikow, a US Marine major and husband of an American diplomat.

Jose Jr. said he knows the three other suspects very well, especially De la Paz, a half-Korean who goes by the nickname Chester. “Matitino sila (They’re just regular guys).”

The four young men are charged with the murder of Anikow, who was mauled and stabbed at a checkpoint near the upscale Bel-Air subdivision in an altercation over access going to Rockwell commercial complex in the early morning of Nov. 24. The incident was witnessed by the checkpoint guard and caught on security camera.

They all pleaded not guilty to the charge when arraigned on Wednesday.

Osric’s father, Dr. Jose Cesar Cabrera, appealed to the media for a fair coverage of the murder case.

The elder Cabrera noted with dismay how a TV network showed only portions of the security camera video which, in his view, depicted the suspects as the “aggressors.” He maintained that the suspects did not start the brawl.

“The damage has been done. Now the kids are mixed with hardened criminals and other media outlets had picked up the video footage,” Dr. Cabrera said.

Jose Jr. said his family usually spends Christmas in a hotel for a get-together, but now they will all go to the city jail to be with Osric, the second in a brood of four.

“My brother is a very helpful person, the type who would not leave you behind,” he said in Filipino. “If he’s really a troublemaker, then he should have been like that a long time ago? But that’s not the case.”

He said Osric has a child and has been planning to get married before the killing happened.

Galicano Datu III

The trial had caused their family great stress, Jose Jr. added. Their mother, who had just undergone a kidney transplant, could not even bear entering the courtroom.

The Cabreras own St. Vincent Dialysis Center in Barangay (village) Pembo in Makati and provide free dialysis services worth about P6 million a year for indigent patients, Jose Jr. said. The center was established in 2005 after he survived a kidney illness himself.

The family also owns an X-Ray center and a laboratory, he said.

Branding his brother and the other accused as mere “rich kids” or “brats” in media reports is just not fair, Jose Jr. stressed.

At Thursday’s bail hearing at the sala of Makati City Judge Winlove Dumayas, a member of the defense panel questioned the prosecution’s presentation of a mere copy of the video footage of the incident and demanded the original clip.

Crispin de la Paz

The court set the next hearing for Jan. 3 next year.

Four US Embassy representatives were present in court as observers, including consul general Michael Schimmel.

“We lost a valuable member of our community. The embassy ensures the welfare of American citizens in the Philippines, this is why there’s the four of us here,” Schimmel told the Inquirer.

Earlier reports from the news website Gawker identified Anikow as a major in the US Marine Corps and executive officer of the 4th Civil Affairs Group

The two weapons the suspects yielded following their arrest for the killing of Anikow in Makati City on Nov. 24.

of the Regimental Combat Team 3 in Afghanistan in 2009.

According to an obituary written by Adam Hochron, Anikow is survived by his wife of 15 years, Laura Anikow, son Jacob, and daughters Grace and Sophie of Herndon, Virginia.

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Kalabaw Courtby Banana RepublicProsec. Atty MayTupak: “Four against One Unarmed Tipsy Marine, He is not armed, you were armed. What can you say?”Defense Atty. Bulak Ball: “Hon. ICC Judge M. Diffuser, my clients don’t have x-ray visions. How the could they know that he is unarmed. . He most likely saw that there plenty of my clients inside the vehicle. It was not logical to think na wala syang armas dahil Hindi sya magtapatapangangan sa amin kung wala syang baril. (In english – He would not dare to be in the combative mood unless he is armed). at saka may naka bukol sa kanyang tagiliran. He is a Marine. The marines are always depicted in the movies, tv, video games, magazines fully armed. It has been imprinted in my clients minds since they were kids that the Marines are always armed. At saka sariwa pa sa isip ng client ko ang tungkol kay Ivr…. na Fil…. na nagbaril ng anak ng isang mat… na Fil… o…. sa traffic altertecation dahil nando-on sya noong nangyari yon. (in Englsih – there was a this Ivr…..– who shot a son of a F…..Off….during a traffic altertecation). My clients thought that they will die that night. blah blah blah blah So they fought tooth and nail.”Hon. ICC(Internatioanl Criminal Court-Vieanna) Judge M. Diffuser: May Punto ka dyan. Mga Filipino hindi magatapangtapangan sa apat na kalaban kung walang baril. Yong fifty years nyo nahatol, eh bawasan ko ng kalahati.

http://profile.yahoo.com/DC6NG5LRTD3HOCQPAYFQ53NWIY Crisanto

Lesson. Mayayabang galit sa kapwa mayabang….

http://profile.yahoo.com/DC6NG5LRTD3HOCQPAYFQ53NWIY Crisanto

This serves as a lesson. Anikow was drunk and probably bragging at that time. He should have put the alcohol in his tummy instead in his brain. Its very easy to stay away from trouble but Anikow looked for it. I’m not saying he deserves to die but he could have prevented it.

panhase

If it´s true what u say, that it´s easy to stay away from trouble, then the 4 armed guys should have walked (driven) away instead of killing Anikow. They even chased him and stabbed him in the back.
What make you think Annikow looked for it? What do you think this 4 guys with attack weapons were looking for?

kanoy

SURE HE COULD HAVE PREVENTED IT..AS SOON AS HE SEEN THOSE 3 RICH PUNKS ALL HAD KNIVES HE SHOULD HAVE PULLED OUT HIS 45 AND SHOT THEM THEN PUT 1 IN THE BRAIN OF EACH IN CASE THEY WHERE SUFFERING

As more Americans identify as “spiritual but not religious,”
evangelicals are changing their focus to building inviting community
spaces

http://profile.yahoo.com/DC6NG5LRTD3HOCQPAYFQ53NWIY Crisanto

If Anikow killed those persons, he will be inside the US embassy as his jail term and not in any jail in any city there in the Philippines.. Remember the US serviceman who raped a Filipina?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PZCN62UBWNKFSNDJ2D3JQBBBWQ max m

Crisanto. you have your facts all wrong, this man doesnot fall under the SOA,
he would if eligible fall under diplomatic cover, as spouse of embassy employee unless he was directly involved w/the US embassy

http://profile.yahoo.com/DC6NG5LRTD3HOCQPAYFQ53NWIY Crisanto

I stand to be corrected. Thank you!

kanoy

”IF” $HIT DID NOT SMELL SO BAD IT WOULD NOT DRAW FLIES LIKE YOU DRAW CONCLUSIONS WHICH SMELL THE SAME
Remember the US serviceman who raped a Filipina? YEA DUMB A$$ DO YOU? The Filipino woman who accused an American Marine of raping her in November 2005 has not only recanted more than two years after winning a conviction but has also accepted money from him and flown to the United States for good
RECANT
. To make a formal retraction or disavowal of (a statement or belief to which one has previously committed oneself).

To make a formal retraction or disavowal of a previously held statement or belief.

WHY SHOULD SHE WASTE MONEY ON AIRFARE? SHE CAN GET RAPED AND KILLED FOR FREE BY A FILIPINO RIGHT HERE IN THE RP
MANILA, Philippines – Two pedicab drivers were arrested yesterday for raping and killing a seven-year-old girl in Sta. Mesa, Manila

Arnieca’s half-naked body was found on the fourth floor of a house on Pat Antonio street in Sta. Mesa, with a nylon cord looped around her neck. Investigators said there were ligature marks on her neck, lacerations on her body and blood on her genitals. The two men admitted to raping and killing the girl

You are correct! Sad to say it happens.. That is why someone will resort to violence just to get even…

kanoy

Christmas for the Anikows is usually spent partying in a hotel.

But this year, as well as all that followthe family is spending the holiday with their dear George Anikow at the cemetary

kanoy

THERE ARE 3 PLEAS A DEFENDANT MAY ENTER….GUILTY….NOT GUILTY OR NOLO CONTENDE (NO CONTEST…MEANS…NOT ENTERING A PLEA…DO AS YOU WISH) WITH THE EASILY BOUGHT 1 PERSON IS BOTH JUDGE AND JURY…THERE IS NO USE/NEED OF PLEA BARGAINING…ALSO WITH THE 60 YEAR OBSOLETE ”EYE WITNESS” EVIDENCE…MURDER IS EASILY BEAT WHEREAS FORENSICS….SHUNNED HERE MAINLY DUE TO WHO IT WOULD CONVICT….IS ALL BUT BANNED…SUCH AS THEY ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO CALL DNA ”CONFUSING & COMPLICATING”

– Reason was “the proposed DNA examination would not serve the ends of justice but only lead to the complication and confusion of the case”

cultural_divide

“Wishy washy I.D. inspection by the always disrespected Sekyu(slang for Security Guards or S.G.) at a plush village in Cocunut(syn. empty head) City” .

To Westerner eyes:” Sec Grd are respected & feared in Westrn Civlzd world -Sec Grds are attired to be feared by public. Sec. Grds can call police & you are in big trouble dude.”

To Ph eyes: ” Ow c’mon. Sekyu lang yan(He is a mere Sec Grd) We have no respect & fear for them. No need to show I.D. bec. I pass thru this gate often. Watch me- as I show my clout – car buddies. All of Sec. Grds at this gate know me already that I am a princeling. ”

From Guardian Angel (psst.. Westerners knows stiff rules – Raising voice, screaming, yelling to vent anger is still ok. No touch, no punch(punching car is still ok- sue him for damages) or Westerner land in jail with misdemeanor. Bad accessible public record forever. You’re fired.)

From St. Peter Calungsod-.:”Just get the name of lousy Sec. Grd. & complain to supervisor to avoid trouble. Or come back next day to teach lousy Sec. Grds. how to improve lax security procedures.”